Bought it on my lunch break today, been listening to it all afternoon at work - I have to disagree with you on Matt Freeman (can't stand his voice, and he's all over this thing), but other than that it's pretty great. Favourite track so far is "Last One To Die", but that's probably just because I've had it in heavy rotation on my iPod since long before the record came out. You pretty much know what you're getting from these guys at this point (with the odd curveball like the "weird cowboy-song kinda thing") - this certainly isn't their best, but hey, it's still Rancid, another solid album from a great band.
Man, you're crazy about Freeman's voice. That thing is great, and I always wished they let him sing more often. It's not like Tim sings like an angel either, you know? Also: "Rejected".
Jesus, "Last One to Die" is so good. Anyone know if that's the other 2 guys from Op Ivy making the cameo in the video?
"It's not like Tim sings like an angel either, you know?"
True, but Tim's got style for days, he sounds so badass, whereas Freeman just grates on my ears. I do love the "boomshakalakalakalaka" bit though!
Have you checked out the acoustic bonus disc? Worth a listen for sure - there's a good song called "Outgunned" that's not on the main album, and "Last One To Die" is almost as good unplugged.
I almost bought the iTunes bonus version with the acoustic stuff. Now I'm wishing I did.
It's definitely worth the extra coin if you ask me - actually, you should have done like me and bought the physical bonus version which gets you the acoustic disc as well as a "making of" DVD and some other random junk (posters, guitar picks). And hey, it comes in a snazzy cardboard box! Well worth my $21.99 (Canadian). Sometimes I forget I'm the only person who still buys actual CDs (it's times like this that 34 feels old).
Yeah, it was weird buying a Rancid album on iTunes. Like, where are all the old show fliers?
What got me hooked to Status Ain't Hood when it was still around was your Rancid reunion tour post. I really related to it as I also grew up on the band, and still love them to this day.
I was wondering what your thoughts were on the new album and single, so i'm glad to see this post. Will you do a review for Pitchfork?
We'll see. But Pitchfork's never reviewed a Rancid record ever, so probably not.
Maybe Pitchfork should get over themselves and just at least make some kind of mention of Rancid's greatness. Albums 2, 3 and four hold up to almost anything from the rest of the decade and Rancid (2000) is crazy underrated.
Rancid isn't hip or relevant enough for Pitchfork? Now I really feel old.
i'm sorry but i had to track you down after i read your review of the new cool kids mixtape on pitchfork.
you can't critique gone fishing, a mixtape, by the standards of an LP. a mixtape is not an LP. it's like comparing apples and oranges - gone fishing can't be compared to bake sale.
you complain about the beats not being typical cool kids beats. the mixtape has always had mc's rapping over random-ass beats that aren't necessarily the mc's style.
you complain about cannon bellowing over the track but that's a staple of mixtapes. to leave that out is like leaving out electric guitar in a rock song.
also, the thing is free. back in the day, you had to buy mixtapes. OR, your friend would make a bootleg copy of a mixtape, and you'd get it for free from him. and when you did get it for free, you were happy for the hookup. it doesn't have to do with the group's "evolution" or freedom from mountain dew.
you also complain about the mastering. again, back in the day, you didn't care that the sound quality was crappy from the bootleg tape-to-tape copy (actually, the original mixtape recording was crappy too, the mc probably rapping into a shure sm57 or some other low-tier mic).
in chicago '96, the mixtapes were located behind the counter at gramaphone. where were the mixtapes located for you? or maybe you're not so familiar with hiphop mixtapes, maybe you never bought them, so you don't appreciate these things. and if that's the case, then what are you doing writing hip hop reviews?
Cute. Been buying mixtapes for (literally) ten years. Used to have a guy in Baltimore who sold fake LV handbags on the corner but had a couple boxes of tapes under the table. Mixtapes are great, but there's no reason not to give them a serious review, to hold them to standards.
And we're actually in a weird halcyon era for rap mixtapes. Playboy Tre, Gucci Mane, Lil Boosie, Raekwon: They've all done some pretty incredible work this year, work that stands up to any actual album that's come out. The Cool Kids mixtape doesn't hold a candle to those ones, so it gets a middling review.
What you're saying is I shouldn't be critical. Fuck that. I'm a critic.
What I’m saying is get your sub genres straight. Apples and oranges.
As for being a critic, I’m not sure. Dropping mc names and managing to get through Baltimore from whatever nice neighborhood you were from don’t constitute expertise. And “literally 10 years”? So you were at most a distant spectator of all of the 90’s. there's a difference between a hip hop critic and a well-to-do writer who does hip hop reviews for editors who don’t know any better. Good luck with the latter, I’m sure entertainment weekly could use you.
I think ten years would be starting around 1999 actually.
Goddamn, Eric, I wish I was the rap expert you are.
And he's right, Tom: if you weren't an old-school head on the gritty streets of mid-'90s Chicago, you have absolutely no right to review rap albums.
Seems to me comparing bootleg mixtapes from the mid '90s to Gucci Mane or Project Pat is apples to oranges too.
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